Cheating Cheetahs

Promiscuity may seem like a “male thing” in nature, but researchers have found that female cheetahs have more of a wandering eye than males, according to a study detailed in a recent issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

About 43 percent of cheetah litters with more than one cub (above) were fathered by more than one male, the study reveals. “This is a finding which gives us a critical insight into cheetah ecology,” said Sarah Durant, a researcher with the Wildlife Conservation Society.

—LiveScience Staff

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